Public memorial, Mass planned for Maggie Daley

CHICAGO — Chicagoans moved forward Friday with plans to remember and pay tribute to the city's former first lady of more than 20 years, Maggie Daley.

CHICAGO — Chicagoans moved forward Friday with plans to remember and pay tribute to the city's former first lady of more than 20 years, Maggie Daley.

Daley, the wife of former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, died Thursday evening after a long battle with cancer. A public wake and visitation will be Sunday from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Chicago Cultural Center and a public Mass will be Monday at 10:30 a.m. at Old St. Patrick's Catholic Church.

Jacquelyn Heard, a longtime Daley aide and family spokeswoman, said the former mayor was reflecting on the time he spent with his wife. Maggie Daley died at her Chicago home surrounded by her husband and children.

"He is emotional," Heard said at a Friday news conference. "This has to be one of the toughest if not the toughest situations he will ever have to endure."

Heard said Maggie Daley would want it remembered that cancer is a terrible disease that touches people all over the world.

Maggie Daley was known as a patron of the arts and culture in Chicago and several musicians and writers paid tribute to her legacy.

"RIP Maggie Daley," Farrell tweeted on Friday. "So proud to have known you; worked with you to make Chicago amongst the greatest cities in the world. You will be missed."

Chicago celebrity chef Rick Bayless said Maggie Daley was a "warm, relentless champion of the arts."

Daley also was a champion of the educational program After School Matters. The program's chief executive officer, Ray Orozco, said her legacy would be honored by continuing the program's efforts.

"Mrs. Daley was truly a visionary who inspired this city, this nation and leaders from around the world with her passion for providing teenagers opportunities to find paths to a meaningful life," Orozco said.

Chicago residents can share thoughts and condolences in memorial books at City Hall, the Chicago Cultural Center and Gallery 37.

Instead of flowers the Daley family asked for donations to After School Matters or the Maggie Daley Cancer Center at Northwestern University.